Historic Aerials Blog

The Changing Face of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Jason Smith October 29, 2025

Say what you will about the demolition taking place at the White House. This isn’t the first time the “President’s House” has been torn apart

How HistoricAerials Helps Authors Rebuild the Past

Jason Smith October 15, 2025

There’s a certain poetry to seeing the past from above. The faint outline of a gravel lot, the ghost of a screen’s shadow, the looping

Let’s Get to Know Each Other: From Arizona, With Aerials

Jason Smith October 1, 2025

Just a little announcement to make: my boxes have been packed and I’m heading west. The headline isn’t the highway, though. It’s the destination: I’m

Transformed: How America’s Earliest Airfields Live On

Jason Smith September 10, 2025

Thousands of people stream through them every day — shopping, commuting, picnicking, or working — without realizing they are moving across ground once alive with

Aerial Insights: The Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of American Horse Racing

Jason Smith August 27, 2025

Once you learn the shape, you can’t unsee it. A clean oval ghosting beneath cul-de-sacs, stitched into golf fairways, hiding behind warehouse rows. From above,

Water Writes with a Pencil & Eraser

Jason Smith August 6, 2025

So you’ve found the perfect waterfront property, you’ve picked out the homesite, and you’re already thinking about the dock you want to build, and all

Historic Aerial Imagery Reveals Floodplain Changes Across the U.S.

Jason Smith July 23, 2025

This past Fourth of July, while many celebrated across the nation, an unimaginable tragedy unfolded in the Texas Hill Country. Without warning, a serene holiday

The Cumberland Road: America’s First Highway

Jason Smith July 9, 2025

Stop complaining about your commute. Tomorrow morning, many of you will slide behind the wheel, your coffee securely nestled in its cup holder, climate-controlled air

Submerged: More of America’s Flooded Places

Jason Smith June 25, 2025

Exploring places submerged by lake formation in the United States is a captivating endeavor using HistoricAerials.com. Since many of these lakes were created in the

Malcolm Woronoff: Bold Legacy of a Sky Photographer

Jason Smith June 11, 2025

Nearly a century after James Wallace Black successfully photographed Boston from a hot-air balloon, Malcolm Woronoff soared over the same city, capturing breathtaking detail through

Navigating the Skies: The Rise of Beacon Stations in Early Aviation

Jason Smith May 28, 2025

In the pioneering days of aviation, navigating the skies was a challenging endeavor. Without modern instruments like GPS, pilots relied heavily on visual references and

Balloons of War: Part V – Twilight Over the Trenches

Jason Smith May 13, 2025

High above the mud and trenches of World War I, tethered balloons swayed with the wind, carrying observers who scanned the horizon for any sign

Balloons of War: Part IV — Africa’s Skies and the Colonial Eye

Jason Smith April 30, 2025

When the balloon first went up over Africa, it wasn’t flying over a battlefield—but over Cairo, as a stunt. The year was 1798, and Napoleon

Balloons of War: Part III — Britain’s Ascent

Jason Smith April 16, 2025

By the 1870s, military strategists around the world were beginning to take the aerial perspective seriously. Balloons had already proven their value in France, the

Balloons of War: Part II — Eyes in the South American Sky

Jason Smith April 2, 2025

The American Civil War was the proving ground for military ballooning and the advantages of aerial perspective. Once affirmed on the battlefield, aeronauts sought new

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